Tool for use in pipes



Apri! 21, 1936. 1 1 FLAVlN 2,038,l79

TOOL FOR USE IN PIPES l Filed May 24, 1955 9 sa 537 we@ y. M Q6 Vif/Lpatented pr. 21A, 1936 UNITED si?,MESA eAT oF Fics.

Toor-.FOR USE;IN PIrEs John J. Flavin, Chicago, Ill. Application. May24,1935, SeriaI'NQ. 23,150

1o. Claims., w1., ia-jloaeo) Thislinvention( relates particularly totools orv cleaners. adapted. for various. uses but particularly;intended for i cleaning4 sewers. frequently choked upor obstructed withvarious 5V andssundry depositsor obstructionsand heretoforerthe methodsof cleaning the same have not beenl satisfactory.

'Iihepresent invention provides means forpulling out or removing suchdepositsifrom` the sewer pipesand. also -for locating breaks or.l otherdam aged` portionsY of thevsewer.

Sewers are' Qther.. objects or the present invention are tol provide animprovedpipe cleaner which is adapted: to'. negotiate the ordinarycurves used in sewer construction and to draw or pull out deposits inthe sewer pipe; -to provideV a pipe clean.- er-having an automaticallyexpanding head for engagementI` with the material to be drawn from thepipe; 'to provide means?. for locating breaks orrda'mages in sewer pipe;to provide an improved tool, for cleaning Ysewer pipes-or drain pipes;to provide-a tool for the purposes'indicatedy having an operatingheadwhich mayv be locked in col'- lapsed positionfor insertion-vin apipe and may- Figure 3'is a sectional view taken on the'line3'-3"of"Figure 2; v

Figure 4 is a sectionalV view taken on the line 4i4-5offFigure 1 and'Figure 5 is a detail of one of the cleaning spoons or scoops.

,"My'inliproved tool comprises a cylinder or tuthen be released toperm-it expanding ofthe same,

pipejandtool with the tool shown in collapsed or bular casing 5 having acap or closure 6 at one endl which is preferably cast or formedintegrally with the cylinder. A slide or piston l is mounted in thecylinder and is adapted to slide freely therein. The piston l has areduced; extension or rod: @which may be attached thereto but whichispreferably formed integrally therewith and which extends throughaahole or bearing 3 in the englA 5; v'I he piston is normally urgedtoward 5) openingposition by a compression Aspring l0 whichismountedfinthe chamber Il between-the, piston and the end of the cylinder. One .endof. the spring abuts. against a washer. I2r which presses'ragainst afelt or packing washer lf3'whichf engages vwith the endof thepistonandisadapted. 5 to make. a tight closure between Ythe same and thecylinder. The. other end of the spring en,- gages witha washer I4 whichcoacts with a packing washer l5` to make. a. tight closure betweenJtherodior. extension 8 and theendof the cylinder'` 10 as will. bereadilyunderstood from Figures'l l and 2. rllhe chamber I l is` preferablyvpacked.` with greaseor. lubricant tolubricate the parts and also toprevent water from` entering the. cylinder.

The operating head includes 4a, penetrating 15 point or.nose I6. whichvis preferably tapered as shown and which. is secured to the outerrend oftherodorextension 8 in any convenient manner as by. being threaded.thereto as. shown at I 'L and being further held by a set screw I8-,VThe. 20 nose l5 has a plurality of bearings I9 to which are pivotallyconnected. the cleaning scoops or spades 20 by means of pivots 2l. Thesespade, or scraper elements are preferably shaped. substantially'-` asshown in Figure 3. with relatively 25 narrow forward or shank portions22 or widenedV or spoon-like rear portions which terminate in curvedends 23, the extreme portions or edgesY of which are preferablyturnedinwardly av suflcient amount so that they are not aptto engage 30 withor bel caught upon any'slight obstructions or joints in the pipe, thisbeing an important feature inthe operation of the device. The spades orScrapers 20y have longitudinaly ribs or links 245to provide f or thepivots 2-I and also to 35 provide central bearings for pivots 25lwhichengage with links 26. The opposite ends of these links are pivoted at 21to bearings or' lugs 2 8 extending radially around the endof thecylinder 5, thus'forming toggle-like connections between the cylinderand the nose I6. The cylinder maybe provided with radial guide orprotecting lugs44 toI facilitate withdrawing same.

The tool is adapted to be lmounted .or fastened to the endofa sewer rod29 which-'may be of any 5 ordinary or preferred Vkind but which usuallycomprises a at strip of ribbon or steel such as commonly used for thispurpose and whichis readily bent or flexed` in one direction in ordert0. Pass. around'curves-Whi1e it. may be secured 5 11912116 rod in. anydesired manner I, have shown the pistonl as being provided withy arearwardly extending projection 3Q which is flattened to engage with therod and which has holes orv slots 3i for the fastening bolts 32, thearrangement 55 being such that the tool may be readily secured to theend of the rod which is perforated to receive the bolts and the end ofthe rod may abut against the shoulder 33 at the end of the cylinder.

In order to hold the cleaning head in closed or collapsed position Iprovide manually controlled means for distant control of the same. Inthe particular arrangement shown the piston or slide 1 has an annulargroove or recess 34 which is adapted to be engaged by a catch or stop 35for holding the same in xed position in the cylinder. The stop extendsthrough a hole in the side of the cylinder and forms a part of onebranch of a bell crank lever 36 which is pivoted or fulcrumed at 3l in abearing 38 on one side of the cylinder. A wire or cable 39 is connectedto the other branch or arm of the bell crank lever at 40 for swingingthe lever to withdraw the catch from operative position. The lever ispreferably provided with a projection 4| which is adapted to engage withthe cylinder to limit the swinging movement of the lever.

In using my improved tool, the head is preferably inserted in a sewerpipe or other pipe 42 to be cleaned, with the scrapers in folded orretracted position as shown in Figure l. The parts are held in thisposition by means of the stop or catch 35 which is in engagement withthe piston. The tool is pushed in by means of the sewer rod and willordinarily slide in on the lower surface of the pipe although forconvenience it is shown as being centrally located, which might be itsposition vif sufficient sediment or coating were in the pipe. Thetapered or pointed form of the tool as a whole assists in shoving thesame through any sediment or coating within the pipe. When the tool hasbeen inserted a suiTlcient distance, which will preferably be limited,as for instance two or three feet, depending upon the nature of thedeposit in the pipe, the rod 29 is held stationary and the wire or cable39 is pulled to withdraw the catch 35. This permits the spring l to movethe cylinder 5 forwardly as shown in Figure 2 to expanded or cleaningposition, at which time the Scrapers or spades 20 will project radiallyinto engagement with the material in the pipe so as to be in position toengage therewith when the tool is withdrawn. Then by pulling out on therod 29 the deposits on the wall of the pipe, such as shown at 43, orother solid material, may be readily scraped out as will be understoodby those familiar with the art. After the first section has been cleanedthe head is again collapsed and inserted a further distance in the pipeand expanded and withdrawn and another section cleaned, and thus theoperation is continued until the work is completed. It will be notedthat the flexibility of the sewer rod and the draw wire or cable 20 issuch that the tool may be used in a large variety of places and underdifferent conditions.

Should the Scrapers in their cleaning movement engage with a relativelyimmovable obstruction as for instance a broken section of pipe, theoperator may note the location of the same by measurement of the rodwhich gives him denite location of such obstruction so that the toolserves for accurately locating the position of any break or obstructionand provides a detector for detecting or locating faults or impedimentsin the pipe. By thus definitely locating the break or obstruction thesewer may be opened at such point in order to x the same, thus savingthe labor and expense which might otherwise occur in opening a longsection in order to find the obstruction.

In order to pass the obstruction and withdraw the tool the operatorholds tight on the wire 39 and pushes on the rod 29, thus causing thepiston 1 to be pushed into the cylinder to move the head to collapsed orentering position as shown in Figure 1, then by holding the rod or wirein such relative fixed position he may draw the head beyond theobstruction and then release the tension on the wire which permits thespring I0 to move the parts of the head to open or cleaning position asshown in Figure 2, and continue the operation in this manner.

From this description it will be seen that I provide a tool for thepurposes set forth, which is simple in construction and which isparticularly durable and efiicient in operation. While I have shown apreferred form of my invention it is obvious that changes may be made inthe arrangement of the parts or details of construction in order toadapt it for use with different pipes or for different conditions, asfor instance instead of having the Scrapers formed integrally with thetoggle or link members connecting the cylinder and nose, such scrapersmay be otherwise attached or connected with such toggle members.Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the particular constructionherein shown and described except as specified in the following claims,in which I claim:

1. The combination with a sewer rod, of an expansible and contractiblecleaning head, resilient means coacting with the head for expanding thesame, locking means on said head for maintaining said head in itscontracted position against the tendency of said resilient means to openthe same, and manually operable means coacting with the rod forreleasing said last named means to permit said resilient means to becomeoperative, said manually operable means extending and being adapted tobe controlled outside of the sewer to be cleaned.

2. The combination with a rod, of an expansible and contractible headfor cleaning pipes, resilient means tending to hold the head in expandedposition, means for fastening the head in contracted position, andmanually operable means for releasing the fastening means to permit thehead to expand.

3. The combination with a sewer rod of the character indicated, of apiston secured to the rod, a pin projecting from said piston axially atthe forward end thereof, a nose secured to the free end of said pin, acylinder enclosing said piston, toggle arms pivotally connected with thenose and cylinder, Scrapers carried by said arms, a spring in saidcylinder tending to draw the nose toward the cylinder to extend thetoggles, a catch on said cylinder for holding the piston with thetoggles in retracted position, and a flexible member connected with thecatch and extending along the rod for releasing the catch.

4. A tool for the purposes set forth, comprising a cylinder having abearing at one end thereof and open at the other end and having a holein the side thereof, a slide mounted in the cylinder secured to the freeend of an operating fed in substantial axial alignment therewith andhaving a recess therein, a pin connected with the slide and extendingoutwardly through said bearing, a pointed lead member secured to thefree end of said pin, toggles pivotally connected with the bearing andsaid lead member, Scrapers connected with the forward toggle members, acompression spring interposed between the slide and the bearing, a leverpivotally connected with the cylinder adjacent to the outer surfacethereof, a catch on said lever projecting through said hole in thecylinder and adapted to engage with said recess in the slide, aprojection on the lever to limit the movement thereof, said lever beingconnected with a cord for swinging the same to withdraw the catch.

5.,'I'he combination with a sewer rod, of a piston, a cylinder engagingwith the piston carried by said rod at one end thereof, a bearing at oneend of the cylinder, said cylinder being open at its other end, anotherrod connected with the piston and at the free end thereof extendingoutwardly through the bearing, a nose secured to the outer end of saidother rod, said piston other rod and nose all being coaxial andextending forwardly of said sewer rod, toggle arms pivotally connectedwith said bearing and with said nose, substantially spoon shapedcleaning members coacting with the toggles, a spring between the pistonand the bearing tending to move the piston to draw the rod inwardly, acatch on the cylinder engaging with the piston for holding the pistonwith the toggles in retracted position, and a flexible member connectedwith the catch and extending along the band for releasing the catch.

6. A device as per claim 5 in which the catch comprises a bell cranklever pivotally connected with the cylinder and having a plug extendinginwardly through the cylinder for engagement with the piston.

7. A device as per claim 5 in which the cleaning members have concaveinner surfaces at the outer ends thereof with convex outer surfaces forengagement with the pipe and have inwardly extending longitudinal linkmembers substantially as described.

8. In combination, a sewer rod, a slide having a recess in the sidethereof, means for detachably connecting the slide with the rod, saidslide having a reduced extension projecting forwardly therefrom, apenetrating nose secured to the forward end of said extension, acylinder coacting with the slide and having a bearing in one end forsaid extension and having the other end open, a spring interposedbetween the bearing and the slide, packing washers between the springand the slide, packing washers between the spring and the bearing, aplurality of links pivotally connected with the nose, Scrapers securedto the links andprojecting outwardly therefrom, said Scrapers havinginwardly curved ends to prevent catching in the pipe to be cleaned,links pivotally connected with the first named links and with theforward end of the cylinder, a catch mounted on the` cylinder andadapted to coact with the recess in the slide to hold the slide With thespring in compressed position, and flexible means coacting with thecatch and extending along the rod to provide distant control for thecatch and for manipulating the position of the cylinder With respect tothe slide.

9. The combination with a sewer rod, of a piston secured to the end ofsaid rod, a cylinder enclosing said piston and having openings at bothends with a reduced forward opening as a bearing, a pin projecting fromthe piston through said reduced opening, a spring interposed between thereducedend and the piston tending to hold the spring in position, apenetrating point secured to the outer end of the pin, toggle linksconnecting the point with the outer end of the cylinder, Scraperscoacting With said toggle links, a catch mounted on the cylinder andadapted to coact with the piston for holding the piston ,in advancedposition, and a flexible member secured to the catch and adapted toextend outwardly along the rod, said exible member providing means forreleasing the catch and also providing means adapted to coact with therod for manipulating the cleaner head from expanded to contractedposition, and to permit it to move to expanded position.

10. A pipe cleaner, comprising a sewer rod, a rigid elongated memberattached to the end of the rod and having its axis extending forwardlyof said rod, a sleeve surrounding at least a portion of said elongatedmember and slidable axially thereof, a plurality of scraping memberscircularly disposed around the forward part of said elongated member andpivotally joined to the forward part of said elongated member, meansconnecting said sleeve with each scrap-- ing member, whereby uponrelative movement of said sleeve and elongated member, said scrapingmembers are expanded outwardly or contracted inwardly, said scrapingmembers, when in expanded position, being adapted to operate over asubstantially larger cross section than when in contracted position,resilient means interposed between said sleeve and elongated membertending to expand said scraping members, means carried by said sleevefor locking said elongated member when in the contracted position ofsaid scraping members and a flexible cable attached to said lockingmeans for tripping said last named means to permit said resilient meansto become operative and for temporarily adjusting the scraping membersto any desired position while cleaning.

JOHN J. FLAVIN.

